


The Wrong Wing on the Helmet

by wisia



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, Identity Issues, M/M, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-16 03:11:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13045293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wisia/pseuds/wisia
Summary: In which Steve falls off the train instead of Bucky. It leads to Bucky taking up the Captain America mantle. Which is all great and dandy, until Howard asks Bucky to marry Tony (thinking he is Captain America)





	The Wrong Wing on the Helmet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kamaete](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamaete/gifts).



> For @thegoldenavenger
> 
> Thank you for the lovely art. I love it. Tony and James Barnes is one of my jam. I just read fics though because I don’t think I can write them together well. But, you know what, I’ll give it a shot. Since I can’t send you a card, have some words. Excuse any errors. I’m in the middle of studying for an exam, but wanted to bang this out real quick.

Carrying the image of Captain America wasn’t an easy one. His breath hitched each time he picked up the helmet with those stupid wings on them and placed it over his own head. It prickled his heart every single time, but James couldn’t stop doing it either. That stupid punk needed someone to carry on his legacy, to make it worth it after everything he had sacrificed. Everything faded in the gulf of Steve Rogers’ death. Not for the first time, James wished he had died in the fall from that godforsaken train instead. It was supposed to be till the end of the line, not this farce of a life he was living now. You would think time would make it easier, but it hasn’t. So many years already. James rubbed a few fingers over a wing ruefully, making it bounce against the helmet. It was a really silly feature, but he wouldn’t change it.

The door opened smoothly, and James corrected his posture as Howard Stark strode in. The reason why he was here today, all suited up in red, white, and blue. Not the best costume for a covert conversation, but it came with the title.

“Oh, you’re here. Good.” Stark barely glanced at him. James suppressed a sigh.

“Yes, sir,” he said. James didn’t add anything more. He found the less he talked, the easier it was to be Captain America. Not to mention, talking to Stark meant the risk of finding out that he wasn’t Steve Rogers increased exponentially. Army secrets and not one that Stark had clearance to. It didn’t keep James from meeting with Stark though. The man practically begged for a private audience, and he thought Steve would have done it. Steve was always too good at that, helping where he was out of his depth.

“Good, good.” Stark repeated, obviously distracted, and closed the door. There was a nervous energy to his steps. “Want a drink?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, pouring out a measure of brandy from the decanter into a cup.

“I can’t,” James said because Steve couldn’t.

“Right,” Stark said. He pressed the cup into James’s hand anyway. “You’ll still need it.”

James didn’t drink it. Stark swallowed his own with ease and then poured himself some more.

“I—do you know why you’re here?” Stark asked.

“I suppose you’ll tell me,” James said, slow and careful to keep his voice low. Though, the only people who might recognize his voice were the Howlies. He never had much interaction with Stark from before.

“My boy—he’s going to be sixteen soon. He’s smart.” Stark rambled. “At MIT and making a fool out of those professors.”

Stark shot him a pointed look. “And I worry. I know I don’t seem to care, but I do. Maria is always saying—anyway, the point is. Tony will be sixteen, and he’s too young to know anything.”

“What do you want, Stark?” James finally asked. That probably came out rougher than he intended, but it passed.

Stark grimaced. “It’s just—he needs protection. More than I can give him, and he needs someone.”

“You want me to play bodyguard?” Not really the best job in the world nor the worse, but James couldn’t imagine the army letting Captain America play security. Even for someone as known and important as Stark.

“No!” Stark shook his head. He looked down at his glass and downed it. Then, he looked James in the eyes. “I need you to marry the boy.”

James stared at him. “What?”

“You heard me. I need you to marry him—who’s going to go after Captain America’s partner?”

This was…James didn’t even know how to respond. Of all the things Stark could have asked him, marrying his son was not one he had imagined. Stark waited, expectantly. James stared back.

“Come on, what do I have to do to sell you it?” Stark asked, breaking the silence.

“Stark, I’m more than half his age.” It was the first thing that came to mind. “I doubt he wants someone as old as me.”

Stark’s eyes gleamed. “Ah, but experience counts! And you don’t even look old.”

“It’s the serum,” James replied blithely. “Works wonders.”

His mind couldn’t quite process, and he thought rather not related to the moment on hand that Hydra’s version of the serum for him was pretty damn close to Steve’s. Enough for a mimicry that he could be Captain America.

Stark laughed. “Yes, it does.”

“That doesn’t mean I should marry your son though.” James reigned in his wandering thoughts.

“Please Steve. I can’t ask anyone else. You’re the only one I trust.”

And that was a punch to the gut. James wasn’t Steve, and he really didn’t think he should accept a marriage proposition on his behalf, even if he was dead.

“I really don’t think that’s—“

“It’s the only thing to do. At least meet the boy before you make up your mind.”

That was…James sighed. What would Steve do?

“Fine, and I’m going to say no.”

However, James was not prepared for the way Stark’s son came bowling into him as he exited.

“Sorry!” Stark’s son apologized, looking up at him with wide eyes. “Oh god, I rammed into Captain America!”

“I’m fine,” James reassured him. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yes.”

And James couldn’t help but sweep his gaze over him. It was reflexive as a sniper and a soldier to notice things, and James  _noticed_. Stark’s boy was as pretty as they came. Soft brown hair with equally soft brown eyes that held intelligence and a spark of warmth that most certainly didn’t come from Howard. He was thin and lanky, but James could see he would grow into it and be a looker even more so than now. It quite took James’s breath away. He had to close his eyes.

“I mean,” Anthony—it was Anthony, wasn’t it—asked. “Are  _you_  okay? I must have run into you pretty hard.”

“You didn’t hurt me at all.” It was more that James needed to get out of there before he said yes to Howard Stark. He was Captain America, and he had morals to uphold.

Anthony lifted a hand to scratch the back of his head, sheepish.

“Right. How can I hurt Captain America? I just—“ He rocked back and forth on his feet. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

He was more than a little starstruck, and James had to wonder what stories Stark told the kid.

“I was meeting with your dad.”

“Oh,” Anthony said. “I won’t interrupt then.”

He looked a little disappointed, and James felt something tugged at him.

“I just finished. I believe this is the first time I’ve met you though. In fact, I haven’t been here at all.”

Tony smiled at him, brightening up at the hint. “Would you like a tour?”

“Why not?” James did promise to at least meet him, and he could tell Howard no firmly after.

**Author's Note:**

> And that’s as far as I go. If I feel like I could write James/Tony properly, maybe I’ll try finishing it or whatever. But basically James does marry Tony, and there is lots of identity angst/feelings because Bucky isn’t actually Steve or Captain America. Bucky doesn’t even let Tony see his face and is careful to keep his hair hidden since it’s brown instead of blond. They still fall in love anyway, and it gets complicated when the Winter Soldier (Steve) shows up.


End file.
